Live long and prosper! Star Trek tricorder-style device can monitor body signals in real time during exercise

In the television series Star Trek, the tricorder is a machine that collects information about a patient's body to diagnose diseases.

Although it started as an idea in science fiction, the technology is fast becoming a reality.

Scientists have developed the first flexible wearable device that can monitor biochemical and electric signals in the human body.

The 'Chem-Phys' patch takes two separate kinds of signals in real time, to keep track of people's health during intense exercise. The tiny device, made by screen printing on to a thin, flexible polymer sheet, can be applied directly to the skin and communicates wirelessly with a phone, smart watch or laptop

The 'Chem-Phys' patch takes two separate kinds of signals in real time, to keep track of people's health during intense exercise.

The patch monitors heart rate using electrocardiogram signals and tracks levels of lactate, a biomarker of physical effort

The tiny device, made by screen printing on to a thin, flexible polymer sheet, can be applied directly to the skin and communicates wirelessly with a phone, smart watch or laptop.

It monitors heart rate using electrocardiogram (EKG) signals and at the same time tracks levels of lactate, a biochemical marker of physical effort.

Combining information about heart rate and lactate could be useful for athletes wanting to improve their performance, the researchers say.

'One of the overarching goals of our research is to build a wearable tricorder-like device that can measure simultaneously a whole suite of chemical, physical and electrophysiological signals continuously throughout the day,' said Professor Patrick Mercier, who worked on the project.

Most commercial wearables only measure one signal, such as steps or heart rate, Professor Mercier said. Almost none of them measure chemical signals, such as lactate.

'This research represents an important first step to show this may be possible.'

It could also have uses for patients with cardiovascular diseases.

'The ability to sense both EKG and lactate in a small wearable sensor could provide benefits in a variety of areas,' said Dr Kevin Patrick, a physician and director of the Centre for Wireless and Population Health Systems at UC San Diego, who was not involved with the research.

'There would certainly be interest in the sports medicine community about how this type of sensing could help optimize training regimens for elite athletes,' said Dr Patrick.

Mr Spock's 'Tricorder' (pictured in a screenshot from Star Trek) is a machine used in Star Trek that collects information about a patient's body to help diagnose diseases

Combining information about heart rate and lactate could be useful for athletes wanting to improve their performance, the researchers say. Some Olympic athletes (stock image pictured) are interested in using the device, according to the developers

'The ability to concurrently assess EKG and lactate could also open up some interesting possibilities in preventing and/or managing individuals with cardiovascular disease.'

The researchers hope to improve the device so it can detect other chemical markers, like magnesium and potassium.

This is not the first time scientists have attempted to replicate the Stark Trek gadget in real life.

In 2013, a competition was launched to encourage the development of a tricorder-like machine.

The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize hopes to inspire a wireless device capable of detecting a range of diseases, including anaemia, tuberculosis and diabetes. 

The final winners will be announced in early 2017, according to the website, with a top prixe of £6.8 million ($10 million) up for grabs. 

Last year, a separate small hand-held device was revealed. The 'Q-POC device' was developed by scientists in Newcastle, and can analyse DNA in under 15 minutes with the accuracy of a state-of-the-art laboratory.

The aim is to launch the Q-POC device the end of 2016, when it could be used to test and treat illnesses from STIs to Ebola, at speed and with great accuracy.

This is not the first time scientists have attempted to replicate the Stark Trek gadget (pictured) in real life. In 2013, a competition was launched to encourage the development of a tricorder-like machine. The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize hopes to inspire a wireless device capable of detecting a range of diseases

THE RACE IS ON TO CREATE A REAL STAR TREK-STYLE TRICORDER 

In 2013, a competition was launched to encourage the development of a tricorder.

The Qualcomm Tricorder X Prize hopes to inspire a wireless device capable of detecting a range of diseases, including anaemia, tuberculosis and diabetes.

The final winners will be announced in early 2017, according to the website, with a top prixe of £6.8 million ($10 million) up for grabs.

One of the finalists, the Silicon Valley-based group Scanadu, revealed a handheld scanner at the CES conference in 2013.

It contains a variety of different sensors, alongside a microphone on the top of the gadget, that can read five vital signs.

These include body temperature, heart rate, oximetry (blood oxygen levels), heart rate variability and pulse wave transit time (PWTT) - the time it takes for a heartbeat to reach somewhere else in a person’s body. PWTT is related to blood pressure.

Its makers claim the device is 99 per cent accurate in less than 10 seconds.

This information is then stored on a smartphone app that patients can use to monitor their health, or can be shared with doctors .

The tricorder uses a micro-USB adapter that can be hooked into a USB port, and it takes less than an hour to charge the battery.

Another device by London-based, ScanNurse, uses computer-vision techniques to analyse images taken with a camera.

They hope their system will make observations of the inside of the ears or throat, say – in the same way a doctor would – and then feed it into a computer for analysis.

Other teams are using blood and urine samples to test for key markers. The tiny microfluidic devices will, they claim, work in a similar way to hospital-lab tests.

Dr Spock's tricorder could soon be 'fact, not science fiction', allowing people all over the world diagnose their own illnesses. Pictured is AMI Vitals Fit device, one of the ten finalists